


Eating on Poker Night

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24270103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: It's time for Jim and Blair to host poker night
Relationships: Jim Ellison & Blair Sandburg
Kudos: 10





	Eating on Poker Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sentinel Thursday prompt 'candy'

Challenge 653 - candy 

Eating on Poker Night

by Bluewolf

Poker night was the one established socializing 'event' Major Crime indulged in. The 'host' each week provided a buffet which was the evening meal for them all; the 'guests' provided beer, a few bottles of juice or cordial (and water), some nibbles... and everyone left well fed while the evening's host was usually left with enough for at least one, sometimes two, meals and enough beer and nibbles to last him for at least a week.

When Blair joined Major Crime as an observer, it was easy enough for the MC detectives to carry on with their weekly socializing without inviting him along; he would only be there for ninety days, after all.

However, after Blair ended up moving in with Jim 'for a week', and after the fourth day the week looked like becoming permanent, there was a little 'what do we do about him?' reaction. Joel's wife, and Henri's, weren't in the least interested in poker; both were happy to provide a tasty, and varied, buffet, then retreat to their bedrooms with a book, or knitting or sewing. But the detectives couldn't really expect Blair to absent himself while the men he was associated with for much of each day socialized, on the nights Jim hosted poker. And so they ended up inviting him to join them, half hoping that he would refuse on the grounds of not knowing much about poker.

To their surprise, he accepted and proved to be so good at playing poker that he ended the evening several dollars richer (they played for pretty low stakes because it was more an opportunity for them to relax than win a lot of money off each other).

Blair tucked in to the buffet, had a bottle of beer, and during the evening ate some of the savory nibbles, but avoided the sweet ones.

That first evening set the pattern for other evenings. Blair won more often than he lost; he enjoyed the buffet, a bottle of beer, and the savory nibbles, but always ignored the sweet ones.

After the fourth evening, as they drove home, Jim said, "It's our turn to host next week."

"Right," Blair said. "I'll deal with the buffet. Will chili be okay?"

"Yes, as long as it's not too hot," Jim replied.

Blair grinned. "I have a recipe that's nice and mild," he said. "It's one I tend to save for special occasions."

"Good. Now - I've noticed that you never eat any of the candy people bring to poker night - for example, you'll take salted popcorn, never sweet. I'd like to get some candy for next week that you like."

Blair shook his head. "I don't eat candy," he said. "When I was growing up... Mom travelled all over the world, and a lot of the places we went, candy was pretty well unknown. And when we were someplace where we could get candy... Mom always said that I wasn't really used to it, so eating it wouldn't be good for me. It would just make me fat. So basically I grew up without a sweet tooth."

"And you were never inclined to rebel, think that candy had to taste nice when all the other kids ate it?"

"Oh, well, that was something else Mom always said; that just because other people do something doesn't mean you should. 'You don't want to follow the herd,' she always said. 'Be your own person.' She stuck with healthy eating, and that didn't include candy. It was the same with booze. She introduced me to that, well watered, when I was still very young. So when I went to Rainier - a lot of my fellow freshmen grabbed the chance to try booze, and while their first hangover taught quite a few of them to watch how much they drank, you'd be surprised how many never really learned when they'd had enough. But I didn't have to experiment with booze.

"So no. For next week, just get whatever you normally do - apart from the main buffet, and I'll handle that."

Jim nodded... but in the privacy of his own mind, he decided that he would begin to introduce his guide to the pleasure of eating at least some sweet desserts.


End file.
